EDITORIAL: Nagin’s Jamaica Trip Not a “Blur” To Anyone Who’s Ever Been To Jamaica Before

Where would you rather have been in November 2005?

On Thursday, May 7, 2009, The Times-Picayune published a story about New Orleans Mayor C. Ray Nagin’s trip to Jamaica–as financed by embattled former Chief of Technology Greg Meffert.

The headline read: “Jamaica Trip a ‘Blur,’ Mayor Ray Nagin Says.”

We’ll take the Mayor at his word that he didn’t accept lavish “things of value” from city vendors. Because, when you think about it, who can put a value on something as weightless as smoke?

Allow us to explain. It is widely known that Jamaica is a Carribean Island south of Cuba.

But what you may not know is this: Jamaica has a thriving drug culture.

Cannabis, or marijuana or ganja–as its known locally, is illegal throughout Jamaica. Does this mean that you won’t see it? Not at all.

Marijuana can be found virtually everywhere. We’ve seen Rastas smoking spliffs the size of cigars right along the roadside. If you take a tourist bus from Montego Bay to Negril, you’ll see vendors jump from behind a tree with a wad of ganja and a marijuana cigarette the size of a small baton as the bus slows down to make a sharp turn.

In November 2005, we were working in Orleans Parish, cleaning debris and ordering rebuilding materials. We were not in Jamaica, privy to Mayor Nagin’s actions.

So why was Nagin’s trip a “blur?”

The Creole-Tomato can never be sure. We can, however, make an educated guess.

One Love,

The Editors